Is there a medical reason, or is my baby just chunky??

Lee - posted on 11/19/2012
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Just wondering if anyone knows if there may be a medical reason for a 4 and a half month old baby wanting to eat a lot!

He is my fifth bub and is breastfed. At three months he started crying for food. I increased bf to 1-2 hours with no relief. One day, just before he turned 4 months, I was sitting next to a lady in church who pulled a biscuit out of her bag. He lunged for the biscuit with his mouth wide open and then cried hysterically when he didn't get it. I started feeding him solids and he settled down immediately. Over the last month, he has wanted more and more food. My health care nurse said to give him what he wants. According to new studies, its encouraged in some places to start solids early and to introduce a range of healthy foods. My other four children all have food allergies and intollerances and so far the baby has enjoyed eating fruit, vegies, dairy, chicken and bread with no nasty reactions. Although I am pleased that he isn't showing any side effects to the food, I'm starting to wonder if he may have some other medical reason for wanting to feed so much. He is a big beautiful boy (half polynesian) who breastfeeds every 2-3 hours day and night. He eats a good amount of solids (equivalent of 1-2 tins of baby food) 4 times a day but often cries for more. He loves slices of bread and drinks of water on top of what he is already eating at meal times. He wont settle and sleep until his tummy is satisfied - which seems to be taking a lot these days to do!

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Denikka - posted on 11/19/2012

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I would agree with Dove that it is concerning to have a child that young eating so much. I would definitely have him checked out by a doctor, just to see what's going on. There are medical conditions where the chemical signal to your brain that says *I'm full* doesn't get transmitted correctly, causing you to constantly feel hungry. It's worth looking into at the very least.

That being said, my brother was a lot like this. He was drinking a full bottle of formula every other hour and in between was having a bowl of rice cereal (all day except when sleeping) by the time he was 3 months old. He was going through 3 times more than the amount of rice cereal that was recommended for a 6 month old. By a year old, he could out eat my mom at times. In his case, there was nothing wrong with him. He was just HUNGRY!! He's now 15 years old and still eats like crazy at times (man that kid can pack away meat XD Doesn't like sugar though) but he's well built (muscular, not skinny and not fat) and very healthy. He was checked by doctors (who actually recommended the start of rice cereal in the first place) and he was nothing wrong with him.

So it COULD be nothing, but it could also be something. It's best to have it checked out, just to make sure. It's not normal for most children.

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That poor baby should still be only on milk... MAYBE solids once a day, but all that food.... oh boy.

His body is not ready for all that food and it can be YEARS (even into adult hood) before he shows any sign of damage.

I would definitely be concerned about a medical condition... either one he has or one he's going to get. His stomach is only supposed to be the size of his fist, so if he's eating more than that at one time his stomach is probably getting stretched out... which makes him hungrier more often.

I am, admittedly, not a health professional though. Just know what I've heard from others who have done their research.